Fishers of Men
by Eggselentwriter
Summary: Matthias was a fisher, who just may have more tail to tell than most of his kind. After a fateful fishing trip, he is caught in the waters of a world he never thought would have existed.
1. Chapter 1

The cool waters of the north sea were riveting that morning. At least... For Lukas it was. The currents carried him, cooling his head and calming his limbs.

The gills on his neck and shoulders brought the oxygen into his lungs and out again. His cold blood pumped healthily, but he knew he would have to go to warmer waters later. His brother had said he was going to the other lands, where the volcanoes were particularly lovely this time of year. He would go visit later. For now, he wanted fish. This was the best place to hunt.

A particular school of fish caught his eye, their silver scales flashing in the light from the surface and he grinned. His pointed teeth glinted as well, as he darted forward, his silver tail whipping like a tornado in the waters.

He swiftly bit into a larger of the fish, scattering the rest, but catching two more in his claws.

Munching happily, he failed to notice that he wasn't the only that wanted the fish.

* * *

The tall blond tapped his fingers rhythmically against the rail of his small fishing rig. It wasn't the hottest day the fisher had seen in his life, but he still was warm enough to have sweat soaking his brow and shoulders, shirt tossed aside to keep cool. He smiled as he watched the sun setting. The churning waters looked like lava... Like in Iceland. He had been there recently for trade. It was lovely.

A ring of the bell alerted him to the nets activity and he stood, immediately grasping the ropes. He pulled, his muscles straining. Odd...

This must have been a good one! He hadn't had a good catch in weeks. This could be the break he needed! Especially if it was Mackerel, the people in Norway and Iceland loved the stuff. Odd but that was how it was.

The thought put far more effort into pulling the net up. He grit his teeth together and furrowed his brow. Now that he thought about it... This couldn't be fish. And he was certain his net couldn't handle this weight. It must've been stuck. Great. Well. At less he caught it before he had torn the net again. Replacing and fixing it was too much hassle. Or expensive.

Letting out a long suffering sigh, he tore his boots off and looked over the side. It didn't look too bad... Chilly but not freezing. At least this time the water wasn't churning and dangerous looking. He tied a rope around his waist, checking it make sure it was a solid knot.

The tall fisherman leaped off of the side in a well-practiced dive, splashing quietly into the depths of the ocean. He blinked, eyes unfortunately used to the saltwater of the sea, and turned this way and that, trying to find the source of the… catch… ?

The fisherman was shocked to find a man- with the tail of a shark no less- struggling where he was tangled into the netting, his tail curled at an odd angle, his arms in strange positions that couldn't be any less than uncomfortable. Several fish were trapped with him, wriggling and writhing just as the creature was.

The mer- it was a man, right? He couldn't be positive of anything but the creature's awesome beauty- but it snarled at him, revealing sharp teeth that looked ready to shred. His clawed hands were tangled as well- otherwise the fisherman was sure that he would have been quite scarred from the encounter. In his shock, had forgotten to catch his breath. And instantly started kicking towards the surface once more. He gasped for oxygen, lips pale from the lack thereof.

What could he do?

* * *

Lukas had snarled at the human, it was all he could really do in this position. He seemed to have retreated though, so now all that remained was getting away.

He looked around for a long moment, trying to find something sharp to cut the nets with. Unfortunately all he had were his teeth, but his neck down to his dorsal fin were trapped by the accursed rope. He thrashed violently, trying to loosen the hold.

Suddenly the human was back. He balked at the sight. Was he stupid? He had – a knife! He struggled even harder, nearly whacking the mortal with his tail. But it seemed that he was good at maneuvering in the water, and he pushed himself next to Lukas' prone form. He put his hand on the merman's cold shoulder, despite the wild movements he made, and held up a finger. Lukas could only guess that it meant wait or something odd. What did he expect him to do, wait for him to cut his throat? The shark snarled again, bearing his teeth, where a second row dropped from his upper jaw. The human seemed a little deterred by this, but he shook his head and pointed at the ropes, then to the knife, then to himself. Lukas blinked.

He wanted to free him?

What fool of a mortal would trust such a beast as himself to simply free him? But he stopped his thrashing about nonetheless. He felt the warm fingers press themselves between his skin and the ropes that held him down. He pulled the rough twine away to safely cut the ropes, and Lukas felt his gills practically scream in relief. The man continued to cut at the ropes, until suddenly his movements became weak, and his eyes started to close. What- oh. He was a mortal… a human. He couldn't breathe under the waves like he.

For half a moment, Lukas was tempted to let him drown. No human could have good intention, freeing a mer. He could have intention to sell him, capture him, take his tail. But that thought was pushed aside as he used said powerful tail to rip free of the remaining rope, and he snatched the man around his arms and stomach, then propelled them back up to the surface.

The blond in his arms gasped and sputtered for air as soon as he came up out of the water. Lukas looked around to see the small boat and started towards it, dragging the mortal idiot with him. Still choking on the oxygen he was receiving, the other was nearly limp in his hold. He paid it no mind. He may have been a larger of the humans he had seen, but he was by no means heavy for someone like himself. Tugging at the rope that was around his waist, Lukas nodded at the assurance that it was connected to something solid and started pulling the boat sideways with it, causing the wood to creak and groan. Water cascaded from the wood as the ship was pulled over just enough to heave himself and the other into it and plop on the ground of the wooden contraption. It sprang back into place, rocking almost nauseatingly upright.

Lukas lay there for a moment, the man still next to him and pressed against his chest as he tried to stand. The mer's tail was still halfway over the rail from his frantic leap. He watched, from the ground, as the human staggered around for a moment before falling again from his air deprivation and the rocking of the ship. What a fool. That fisher had nearly killed himself to try and help him. Not that he wasn't grateful, but he couldn't imagine doing that for someone, let alone a complete stranger. Which was _why_ he was so suspicious of his intentions. But now that he was on board the mortal's ship, he was more than prepared to fight him, if need be.

Finally the human sat up, still short of his breath, but otherwise fine. He blinked and looked down at his savior before scooting away slowly, as if afraid Lukas would bite his arm off.

Maybe he wasn't as stupid as the ocean dweller had originally thought.

"Why did you help me?" Lukas' musical voice asked, like the tap of a glass against a utensil, or the chimes in the wind on a mild, breezy day. It was beautiful, whatever it compared to, and made the Mortal stare for a moment before he gathered his bearings.

The human shrugged. Lukas raised an eyebrow. "You don't know?" The blond shook his head, then shrugged again, smiling awkwardly now. "What use did you anticipate to have me for? Money? Magic?" Again, the blond shook his head vigorously, as if the very thought revolted him.

The shark narrowed his eyes and used his arms to crawl towards the human, who was pressed against the wooden mast. The blue eyes- such a blue, how had he not noticed?- widened in surprise and fear, pushing back with his feet to try and bury himself in the wood it seemed. His feet were still too wet to make a grab at the wood though, so it was pointless. So he slipped, trembled and watched as the Merman pulled himself up to his weak form and held himself up with his arms so that he was face to face with him. "What is your name?"

The human looked at him, and slowly lifted his arm to point at the knife that had been dropped on the deck. The merman cocked an eyebrow and picked it up. Carved crudely into the handle were the letters " S".

"Ma-tt… no a th makes a thhhhh sound… Ma… thhhh I as? Matthias? That's your name?" the human nodded. "Alright- are you still short of air, or are you just being rude? Speak, mortal."

Matthias gulped and shook his head. He reached up- his hand accidentally brushing Lukas' arm due to their close proximity, and touched his own throat. He tapped it a few times to try and get the message across, shaking his head in a negative motion.

"You cannot speak?" Matthias nodded slowly. "I see. I've never met a human without speech."

The large human shrugged. Such a noncommittal gesture. But then he pointed to Lukas, quirking his brow. "My name?" Matthias nodded. "Lukas."

The mer watched as the human mouthed his name, as if rolling it around on his speechless tongue. Then he grinned and mouthed very slowly a 'thank you, Lukas'. The magnificent creature scoffed, backing away from the human as gracefully as one could with a seven foot tail and two arms with clawed fingers.

"Think nothing of it. I owed you my life and that is all. I shall take my leave." Lukas said. "Travel well, mortal." He used his arms again to pull himself over to the rail, hoist himself up, and look at Matthias one last time.

Then he dove off the side of the ship.

* * *

 **Just sort of a series of one shots? maybe. Do tell what you think ou o bb**


	2. Chapter 2

"So wait, what you're saying is that you burn your fish? With that hot orange stuff? Fire?"

Matthias gave his charming, silent laugh. He shrugged and nodded, holding up the stick with the fish on the end of it. Some of it was charred, but it was otherwise quite perfectly cooked. After a long day of selling his fish on the market, it was a nice break to sit on the beach and eat what he had left of his catch. However, it seemed to the mortal, that his mythical friend found it far less than appealing... let alone appetizing. It was humorous at the very least, if not outright hilarious for the faces he kept making at the dead fish.

"Does it burn you?" Lukas asked, looking up at his tanned face, almost reaching out to poke the previously scaled meal. A previous conversation between the two had informed the shark-man that fire was NOT to be trifled with- much like melted rock.

Matthias shook his head- biting out of the food. He held his free hand up and dragged it away from in front of him. A signal that the two had worked out for terms involving time. "You have to- wait for it?" Matthias nodded. "Or it _does_ burn you?" the fisherman held his hand flat out and tilted it from side to side. A 'sometimes'. "That seems odd."

The blond shrugged and moved so that he was laying on his stomach in the sand, disregarding the grains that would surely get into his tunic. He didn't seem to care, since it put him at eye level with the merman in front of him. He held out the stick with the fish on it, offering it to the mer.

"Uh- no thanks. I ate already." Lukas said, resting his cheek onto his hand. It was not a lie- the schools of fish earlier had been quite numerous. "So tell me, how did you lose your voice? Or were you born without one? Did the gods take it from you?" Something he had been afraid to ask until now. But if now wasn't a good time, then no other would be.

Matthias swallowed his fish and looked towards his campfire. He quirked a brow at the other and then pointed towards the shack on the edge of town, wiggling his fingers like the fire. Lukas pushed himself up so that he was holding his upper body up on locked arms. Matthias sat up so that he could brush the sand off of his shirt and pants.

"A fire? How does the fire take one's voice?" the fisherman indicated to the smoke that was swirling above their heads. "I see… We have places like that in the water as well. I'm unsure of what your people call it, but strange… clouds of black… are in the water in some places. It makes it hard to swim and breathe… It made my brother sick for a long time."

Matthias thought for a minute, then dragged his finger through the sand, spelling ou with a little ? at the end. Lukas stared hard at it, trying to sound out the three-letter word in his head. But found himself unsuccessful.

"Oh- Oh I'll? Oyll…. Is the I an ih sound or an ee sound?" The human held up two fingers, the second. "O- EE- L?" Matthias nodded. "I see. Well it is horrible, if we're speaking of the same thing. It seems to be becoming a larger problem for us. Some of the healers have to help the sky-dwellers get back into the air so that they don't drown. Did you call them birds?" A nod. "It ruins their… fur?"

Lukas rolled onto his back and allowed his arms to fall to his sides, his head resting on the human's leg. A strange appendage, but one he found oddly likeable about him. How he could just... _stand_ on them!

Lukas never imagined he would be this lax around a human. Showing one's stomach to anyone was a sign of utmost trust- and somehow he felt that with Matthias. 'Belly up' like he had heard it called before. It didn't seem that human's had the same sort of signs of trust, but Matthias didn't show any of the hostile actions that other mortals did. Of course- he wasn't the same as other humans. He didn't carry around one of those loud instruments that hurt others- he freed a merman when most would have killed or sold it. And beyond that- he was... a friend. Dare he say it.

And somehow that made Lukas… appreciate his company. Even though he scolded Emil constantly for going to the surface more than he should- here he was. Breaking his own rules of it. Great Gods- He was breaking the _Laws_ he had been taught since youth.

But….. he didn't seem to mind.

* * *

 **I guess this has no real order. :/ Oh well. Do enjoy!**


End file.
